Moving on with Miley Cyrus

Look at the tags on those Miley Cyrus dolls. Read the fine print on her CDs. Check the label on those Miley jeans you bought at Wal-Mart.

There is a limited warranty on teenage stardom. Miley has been in the spotlight for 3 1/2 years. Her reign as the Queen of Tween may soon expire. With the Disney darling set to turn 17 on Nov. 23, it's time to think about how Miley can reposition herself for the next phase of her career.

She's well aware of the situation. When she released her new EP "The Times of Our Lives" in August, she told the Associated Press that this is a "transitioning album." In that same interview, she talked about her image-changing star turn in a 2010 dramatic film titled "The Last Song."

"I love doing 'Hannah Montana,' but I want to continue doing things that are a little bit more darker roles."

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Even though Disney holds an option for one more season of "Hannah Montana," Miley knows the time for moving on is fast approaching.

What should she do? Go country? Try Broadway? Or just change her hairdo? And then the big question: Will her fans grow with her?

We came up with 10 suggestions, based on what other bubblegum pop stars have done when it was time to move on.

1. Switch genres. This spring's "Hannah Montana: The Movie" seemed to be a step toward country music, the field in which her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, made his name. Marie Osmond made country work for her. Hanson segued into adult pop and kept a sizable portion of their fan base.

2. Work with a new producer. Want instant cred in the rock world, go to Rick Rubin, who built his resume with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Petty and Dixie Chicks, to name a few.

3. Change your moniker. Smiley "Miley" is cute but sooo bopperish. Debbie Gibson reverted to Deborah Gibson when she wanted to grow up. Should Cyrus return to her given name, Destiny? Or use her middle name, Hope?

4. Change your hairdo. Remember when Timberlake launched his post-'N Sync solo career? Gone were those boy-band curls in favor of a close-cropped 'do. Jesse McCartney went from blond to brunet when he aimed for a more adult pop sound.

5. Form a band. It worked for Michelle Branch, who, after teen pop stardom, joined with Jessica Harp in the Wreckers and moved to country. Now she's bounced back to pop with a clean slate.

6. Take a major role on Broadway. That strategy helped keep the names of Donny Osmond, New Kids' Joey McIntyre and Backstreet Boys' Kevin Richardson in lights.

7. Play a role in a movie aimed at college-age-plus audiences. New Kid Donnie Wahlberg vaulted to the silver screen in films with Mickey Rourke and Mel Gibson. Miley reportedly makes a cameo in the grown-up movie "Sex and the City 2."

8. Change your geographic focus. The Backstreet Boys have refused to abandon their Euro-pop sound, so they are now concentrating on Europe, not the States anymore.

9. Do charity work and put your career on the back burner. Tween superstardom always leads to too much product and too much exposure in too short a period. So take a year off to work with a humanitarian cause exclusively.

10. Go to college. That move worked for such teen actresses as Brooke Shields, Jodie Foster and Natalie Portman. Wait, has Miley finished high school yet?